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One of my most memorable teaching experiences came from working with a 7th grade girl, Laura. Her mom called me one Sunday morning to inquire about essay writing help for her daughter. Of all the inquiries that I have received in the past for writing, her tone seemed more concerned.

It was Laura's first session. She had been attending a prestigious school was struggling greatly with reading and writing. After our first conversation, I understood exactly why her writing was poor.

I asked, “Hi, Laura. What did you do today at school?”

She responded, “Well...” “Like…” “But…” “and then…”

I could tell right away that her speech had no structure and was all over the place. It was almost like her ideas were trapped in her mind.

I decided to change her learning strategy. Instead of writing, we began with speaking exercises. We spent our session formatting conversations about her day in the most basic, minimal, yet effective sentences.

I asked, “Laura, how was your day?”

She Responded, “Well, like...”

I stopped her, “Let's try again. How was your day?”

Her response, “My day was great. I woke up at 7 then went to school then Tegan and me turned in...”

I stopped her once more, “Start over.”

She replied, “My day was great. I woke up at 7 and went to school. My friend Tegan and I turned in our math project.”

Our speaking exercises were working. In a short amount of time, forming basic sentences turned into developing eloquent sentences with complex grammar. She was becoming a more expressive and confident speaker. She was now ready to write.

Laura’s much improved speaking ability immediately translated into improved writing. She was able to gather her thoughts more efficiently, creating more meaningful content. I also noticed that her grammar and organization had drastically improved. She was blossoming into an exceptional writer.

Our learning methods enabled Laura to discover her natural speaking and writing abilities that she never knew she had.

With the right methods, any student can discover his or her natural ability to excel at any subject.